MILWAUKEE—J.J. Hardy and Bill Hall hit two-run homers, Ben Sheets worked out of several jams to earn his 10th win and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 9-1 on Friday.

Sheets (10-2) stranded eight runners in the first five innings, allowing one run and eight hits before departing with two outs in the sixth after throwing 120 pitches. He became the sixth 10-game winner in the NL this season.

Carlos Villanueva picked up his first save by pitching 3 1-3 innings.

Hardy, who struggled with a tight shoulder last month, had four hits for the second straight day to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, the longest active streak in the majors. His homer in the fifth set off Milwaukee’s offensive outburst.



Reds 3, Nationals 0

CINCINNATI—Ken Griffey Jr. hit a two-run drive for career homer No. 604 and Bronson Arroyo worked six innings to lead the Reds.

Griffey’s 11th homer of the season came on a 1-0 pitch from rookie Jason Bergmann (1-6) and gave the nine-time All-Star 5,001 total bases for his career, becoming 18th player to reach that level.

Arroyo (6-7) was sharp after the game started following a 1-hour, 2-minute rain delay. He gave up five hits to earn his second consecutive win after three straight losses. David Weathers and Jared Burton each pitched an inning before Francisco Cordero finished the eight-hitter for his 17th save in 20 tries.



Dodgers 10, Giants 7

SAN FRANCISCO—Andre Ethier homered and hit a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth, Derek Lowe won for the first time in three starts and Los Angeles rallied for its fourth straight victory.

Giants rookie reliever Osiris Matos (0-1) allowed five unearned runs in the sixth. Left fielder Fred Lewis made a costly mistake when he dropped a routine line drive by Nomar Garciaparra to start the inning. Pinch-hitter Delwyn Young hit a tying RBI single two batters later, then one out later Ethier began a stretch of three straight doubles that scored runs.

Los Angeles had nine extra-base hits to help Lowe’s cause—getting two doubles and two RBIs by Garciaparra in his return from the disabled list. Lowe (6-8) won for just the second time in five starts, going five innings for the decision. Takashi Saito worked the ninth for his 15th save.



Phillies 3, Mets 2

PHILADELPHIA—Shane Victorino’s two-out RBI single in the ninth inning lifted the Phillies.

Duaner Sanchez (3-1) retired the first two batters before Pedro Feliz doubled to left field. Victorino followed with a liner to right on a 1-2 pitch to score Feliz and send a sellout crowd into a frenzy.

The NL East-leading Phillies have won four straight after losing 13 of 18. Brad Lidge (2-0) pitched a perfect ninth, capping the Philadelphia bullpen’s 4 1-3 scoreless innings.

Johan Santana, 0-4 with a 2.48 ERA in his last six starts, gave up two runs and six hits in eight innings.



Braves 6, Astros 2

ATLANTA—Jason Perry hit a run-scoring triple in his first major league at-bat, Tim Hudson gave up only one run in seven innings and Atlanta ended a five-game losing streak.

Mark Kotsay’s run-scoring fly to center field in the second inning gave the Braves a 1-0 lead, and Perry followed with a triple to the right-field wall that drove in Brian McCann from first base.

McCann drove in Chipper Jones with a third-inning single for a 3-0 lead, and Kelly Johnson added a two-run homer.

Hudson (9-6) gave up four hits and one run, with three walks and six strikeouts. Mike Gonzalez pitched a perfect ninth for Atlanta.

Lance Berkman drove in Darin Erstad with a single to left in the sixth, but Johnson answered with his two-run homer off Brian Moehler (4-4) in the bottom of the inning.



Cubs 2, Cardinals 1

ST. LOUIS—The return of Cubs ace Carlos Zambrano trumped the soap opera setting of Jim Edmonds’ homecoming and Albert Pujols’ 300th home run.

Zambrano came off the 15-day disabled list from a shoulder strain with six spotless innings, leading Chicago to a victory over St. Louis in the opener of a three-game series matching the National League’s top two teams.

Slumping Kosuke Fukudome homered in the first inning and Geovany Soto connected in the fourth to give the Cubs only their third victory in nine games.